As the last days of the wood snake wind down, we can look forward to the Chinese New Year of the Fire Horse. Starting on 17 February, the Year of the Horse is part of the 12-year Chinese Zodiac cycle. If this is your year (1918–1930–1942–1954–1966–1978–1990–2002–2014), then you can look forward to a year of enthusiasm and innovation – match that with the exhilaration of a Fire year (one of the 5 elements: earth, metal, fire, water, wood), and it’s not only enthusiasm but passion, not only innovation but dynamism. Think strength, swiftness, boundless freedom, and unyielding perseverance, and it will be a better year than we’ve had in a while.
It will be a year of optimism – driven by all that enthusiasm and those innovations – and of opportunity. Success and good fortune are on schedule for the year. The arrival of the horse year gives us a year of swiftly moving success.
Famous people born during horse years include scientist Isaac Newton, b. 1642; physicist Max Planck, b. 1858; astronaut Neil Armstrong, b. 1930; and filmmaker James Cameron, b. 1954.
This year, the horse is most compatible with those born in the Year of the Tiger, the Goat, and the Dog, and least compatible with those born in the Year of the Rat, the Ox, and the Snake.
In his 2006 (rev. 2016) Concerto for Orchestra: Zodiac Tales, Chinese composer Bright Sheng uses the Chinese zodiac animals to populate his concerto. For him, the image of flying horses of heaven that used the sky as their highway to travel thousands of miles a day drives the energy of this movement. They move through the sky, their tails getting tangled in the clouds, as they dash towards the horizon.
Bright Sheng: Concerto for Orchestra: Zodiac Tales (2016 revised version) – VI. The Flying Horses (Shanghai Symphony Orchestra; Bright Sheng, cond.)
The Year of the Horse people should look out for their lucky numbers (2, 3, 7 and their combinations, such as 23 and 37) and for their lucky colours (green and yellow). Unlucky numbers are 1, 5, and 6, and the unlucky colours are blue and white.
The Stockholm-based Zymphonica orchestra picked up on the idea of motion for the track Dark Horse, melding a classical orchestral sound with pop, rock, and R&B influences.
Lukasz Sebastian Gottwald: Dark Horse (arr. R. Fors) (Zymphonica; Anonymous, cond.)
What do you anticipate for your Year of the Horse? If it’s your year, it could be a wonderful year of discovery and innovation!
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